I've been working two part-time jobs as of late. One of my jobs, which I've been working on and off since last summer, is with a local contract archaeology firm. I've been doing some ceramic analyses for them, and am currently wrapping things up with some report chapters. It's been good work, and though I'm usually very happy to sit around and look at old pottery, I admit that it's not the most stimulating of projects. To be honest, I'll be happy once I finish my reports and can look forward to other things. There will (hopefully) be fieldwork with this company later this summer, which will put me in northern Arizona for a month or so and should be really interesting work. I'm always happier in the field than I could ever be in an office. Of course, this future fieldwork may also lead to more future ceramic analyses and report writing... and while at times it can be slightly boring and monotonous, work is work, and this is good news.
My second job right now is a pretty new development. I was recently hired by a large engineering company to do some small survey projects. This company has a large-scale contract with Qwest, and whenever Qwest has new cable lines or utility boxes to install, I'm basically the one who gets to go wander along the road shoulder to confirm that no archaeological remains are going to be disturbed by the construction. It's very easy work, and sort of silly since most of the surveys I've had to do are in the city and in areas that were developed many years ago (meaning that any archaeology that might have existed there is long gone). But, I don't mind the silliness of it too much. I'm getting paid well to walk around outside and write simple, non-academic reports, and I can do my work wherever and whenever I want. AND, I get to explore some of Tucson's many mobile home parks! I'm broadening my horizons every day...
My new job leaves me somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, I'm getting paid quite well to do easy work with flexible hours and some fieldwork (as uninteresting as it may be, it's still fieldwork). On the other hand, this isn't what I signed up for when I decided to become an archaeologist. I went in to this field because I love the intrigue, the hands-on, the history, the research, the dirt... not because I wanted to work for some big contracting firm who puts up power lines around the western states for a corporate-level cable company.
I think that for the time being, and for the short term future, I could handle working a low-excitement-yet-decent-paying job for a year or two if I had to. Hell, that's what a large majority of people do for most of their lives anyway, isn't it? I just know that after a while I'd get restless. I'd miss being in the field, working on really fascinating sites, surveying non-urban landscapes, and eventually I'd even miss writing lengthy reports on boring ceramic analyses. And I suppose that's just one more thing to add to my list of "To PhD or Not to PhD?" considerations. But the good news is that I'm not nailed down to anything here. There are still lots of other, more exciting jobs out there waiting for me. I'm not in any big rush. So maybe this is where I'll be for the next year or so-- doing roadside surveys and writing up cookie-cutter reports, and still enjoying the benefits of not yet being tied down to a 9-to-5 schedule, having time to ride my bicycle, and having a flexible schedule to which I may not ever again have the privilege once I finally buckle down a find a "real" job. I'm cool with that.
